The thousands of laid-off workers protesting over unpaid wages in Zhangmutou, Dongguan , dispersed yesterday after the township government paid out more than 8 million yuan (HK$9.1 million) in back pay.

The global financial crisis is battering the 'big ships' of the Hong Kong manufacturing industry, with toymaker Smart Union Group (Holdings) closing two factories in Dongguan , leading to protests by thousands of angry workers.

Guangdong police smashed a criminal group suspected of robbing and stealing vehicles in Dongguan , and shot dead one of its members who had held a woman hostage and asked for a car on Thursday, local media said.

According to the Shenzhen-based Jinbao, the four-member gang had committed several crimes in towns of Dongcheng, Houjie and Zhangmutou in recent months.

IN the Guangdong town of Zhangmutou, they've been living next door to the People's Liberation Army since 1949. But more than four decades on, it's an uneasy relationship, with the townspeople still not quite able to put their fears to rest.

BOOM town Zhangmutou, in Dongguan municipality, is outperforming other developing places in the southern region, with Hong Kong investors accounting for about 90 per cent of its property sales, according to a leading Chinese property consultancy.

A COMPANY 50 per cent owned by Emperor International and 30 per cent by its chairman Sonny Yeung has agreed to develop 1.1 million sq ft of land in Zhangmutou, Dongguan, into a residential-commercial estate.

The development will include 100 villas and 20 multi-storey residential buildings, with complementary recreational and other facilities.